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Home network -_-

Hey all

So now I finally got a new PC at home. Im running Vista business Sp1 and after the second format it is running like a dream and set up the way I want to.

Now I have a spare PC, I dont really have the space but I can set it up in the corner which I have done so I can copy my data across to the new PC if I wish too. That pc is running XP Sp2, very stable system no problems.

They are connected via a router which I also use to connect to the internet.

I have two questions here.

1) If I try remote in from my Vista machine to the Xp machine I get an error that the RDP version doesnt match, however when I had XP on both machines the RDp console came up where I could log in. I put in my admin password for the machine I wanted to log into however I got some error that it doesnt have right or the account was in use. I cant remember, I will edit when I get home of the exact error I get.

2) What will be the best possible setup for security? Make my Xp machine connect to the internet via router and my new pachine to go through the XP machine for net access? Can I only run AV on that Pc then if I dont use flash drives or anything on my new PC? I would like to minimize the AV running on the new PC for best performance however I dont want to slow down my connection routing through a computer?

I am very excited as this is my first chance to actually set up a home networked enviroment for myself as I have the hardware now.

I am open to reformatting the old PC and putting on another OS or whatever. Read up on a Linux SME server, is that an option?

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I am using a telkom 100MW router with 4 ports.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I may ask for more indepth as I am not a guru yet.

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.Albert Einstein

Use the router to connect both machines to the internet. There's no need to route one through the other. Your router uses NAT so there's no connection from outside to inside unless you open it on your router.

Use AV on both machines as both will contain files..

Oliver's Law:
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

@Cider
I've had a similar setup at home for years. I used to work for an ISP, so i tried to recreate the functionalities of an ISP at home for training and expertise.
My suggestion would be to get VMware server (which is free) and load up several Linux distros. The only thing you'll need is RAM, at least 1GB, i would go with 2gb. Linux servers run happily with 256 mb of allocated ram for home usage, so you have the capacity to fire up 2-3 virtual machines without any problem

If you are up to the challenge, try setting up one Virtual Linux as a DNS server, with forwarder to your router. Avoid DHCP server - this WILL conflict with the router, which also does the same thing for you.
I would set-up another virtual machine with a mail server for the excersise, for a full scale function set go with the qmail toaster - http://www.qmailtoaster.org/

Then go about a web server with DDNS registration. This will keep you busy for at least 2 months to set up properly, and should build up your knowledge of a larger infrastructure.